Rain Water Harvesting Systems in Bangladesh: A Review

Abstract

As the population of the world increases every day, the demand of water for drinking and other domestic purposes also increases at the same rate. But the rate of utilization of surface and groundwater resources is much faster than that of their recharge. This is one of the reasons for scarcity of water. There are also other reasons for scarcity of water as the contamination of surface and ground water. The situation is very much concerning and the fact is not so different for Bangladesh. The scarcity of water in Bangladesh are due to over-exploitation of ground water aquifers specially in big cities and Barendro region, natural arsenic contamination of ground water in 61 districts, salinity in the coastal regions and lack of surface water and also lack of easy access to the aquifers due to hilly and rocky topography in the Chittagong Hill Tracts Region of Bangladesh. The benefits of this alternate source of water are found to curtail the burden on the public water supply, to be cost effective, to be used in case of emergency, to increase soil moisture to develop vegetation and to develop the chance of ground water recharge. Cost comparison and associated benefit between a rainwater harvesting system (RWHS) and traditional water supply system encountered and revealed a rainwater harvesting system as a cost-effective technology in Bangladesh especially in places where water is not easily available to consumers. Bangladesh government and NGOs should take clear steps forward for building RWHS to combat the situation. Mass education should be spread to aware the common people about the technology, benefits and cost effectiveness of rainwater harvesting system.